The Enemy of Love
by fembuck
Summary: Bellatrix and Andromeda love each other as much as two people can. But there is love, and then there's life, its enemy. Contains Deathly Hallows spoilers. BellatrixAndromeda, blackcest, femslash


**Title:** The Enemy of Love  
**Author:** Janine  
**Fandom:** Harry Potter  
**Pairing:** Bellatrix/Andromeda  
**Rating:** NC-17  
**Warning:** blackcest, breathplay, angst  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own them  
**Summary:** Not all love stories have a happy ending. **Contains DH spoilers**.

---

Andromeda's fingers brushed lightly over Nymphadora's cheek tucking a strand of purple hair behind her ear gently, her fingers beginning to tremble slightly as they slid down the soft strands of her daughter's hair.

"Sit, darling," Andromeda said softly removing her wand, satisfied now that Nymphadora was really there and that she wasn't seriously injured though a few cuts and bruises lay scattered across her skin.

"Oh mom," Tonks whined slightly seeing her mother pull out her wand, "I told you I'm fine. They're just scratches. Really, you don't need to …"

"Dora," Andromeda interrupted able to guess what the rest of her daughter's argument would have consisted of. "I'm your mother. Merlin knows I wish you didn't put yourself in these dangerous situations, but if you must," Andromeda continued holding up her free hand to ward off her daughter's passionate arguments about how the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil was for good people to do nothing. "Then at least allow me this one comfort, let me fool myself just for a minute into thinking that I can still protect and take care of you."

Tonks looked up her mother as the woman stared down at her calmly. If anyone else had been looking at Andromeda just then Tonks knew that they would have likely described her mother's demeanor as detached or remote, but she knew better than that. Tonks could see the tense set of her mother's shoulders, she could see the slight shadows under her eyes and the glint of steel behind her gaze that she knew was a product of fear rather than anger. Without a doubt, Tonks knew that the moment she left for #4 Privet Drive that her mother had been pacing around the house and outside around the property, checking and rechecking the protection spells, making sure all of the clocks were set to the same time down to the second, verbally going over the plan again and again with her father who humored her knowing that telling her to sit down and be calm would do no good.

"Thank you," Andromeda said softly as Nymphadora sighed and slumped her shoulders silently agreeing to let her mother treat the minor injuries she had incurred, even though it was very obvious that she felt it was doting and completely unnecessary.

"Yeah," Tonks muttered as Andromeda began to move the wand across her face, her lips moving silently as she worked.

"Who did this?" Andromeda whispered minutes later, her tone almost conversational as she waved her wand over Nymphadora's fingers which had become raw from holding onto her broom so tightly and from the strain of the complex moves she had to make during the flight to avoid the curses flying at her.

Tonks looked up at her mother as she spoke but remained silent for a moment. She knew that tone. That was the tone that had almost always preceded Tonks getting grounded in the past. As a child that tone had made her sweat and shiver because she knew there was no escape from her mother after she used it.

"It was … I mean, there were lots of people out there, it was kind of hard to keep track of what was going on," Tonks began dropping her gaze down into her lap, though she could feel her mother's eyes on her. "It might have been, I mean there were curses flying all over the place," she went on her mother's gaze steady on her, burning through her evasions. She felt like she was fourteen again.

"It was your," Tonks began knowing that it was no good trying to pretend she hadn't seen who did the damage. She had wanted to spare her mother the pain, she didn't know much about her mother's relationship with her aunt when they were children, but she did know that whenever Bellatrix's name was brought up around her mother a look of unfathomable sadness would wash over her, and she would be distant and morose for days after afterward. "It was Bellatrix," she said finally biting the bullet. "Lestrange," she added nervously when her mother's eyes locked on her before they skirted away once more.

"I see," Andromeda breathed out releasing an audible breath of air out of her nose a moment later as she tucked her wand back beneath her robes. "Well, that's all the boo-boos I can see," she continued taking Nymphadora's hand into her own and holding it for a moment. "How's your …"

"It's fine," Tonks said her hand drifting to her stomach, knowing what her mother was going to ask. "I promise I wasn't hit anywhere near there. We're okay."

Andromeda's eyes closed briefly as she nodded her head.

"What aren't you telling me?" Andromeda asked a few seconds later releasing Nymphadora's hand, moving to sit beside her on the couch.

"She … she focused on me," Tonks responded knowing that it was no use trying to keep it from her. "She wanted me quite as much as Harry, mom," she continued shaking her head slightly as confused as she was enraged by Bellatrix's attention to her. "She tried very hard to kill me."

"Silly, brainless baggage," Andromeda breathed out, her voice barely a whisper as Nymphadora stopped speaking. She angled her away from her daughter for a moment after that, not wanting her to see the devastation in her eyes and took two deep breaths before turning to face her once again.

"Mom," Tonks began when Andromeda turned to face her once more. She didn't really understand the importance or meaning behind what her mother had muttered, but she could see her shutting down. She owed Bellatrix pain for what the woman had done to Sirius, and seeing how now how she still managed to wound her mother without even having seen her for twenty-two years, Nymphadora's desire to inflict pain became downright homicidal.

"Go to your husband," Andromeda said as if Nymphadora hadn't spoken, forcing a smile onto her face as she did. "He's been hovering outside the door for almost five minutes. I think I've monopolized you enough for one night," she continued standing and holding her hand out to Nymphadora who reluctantly took it knowing that for the time being the conversation was over.

Continuing to smile kindly, Andromeda watched as Nymphadora walked to Remus' side and as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Once Nymphadora reached him they turned towards her and she dipped her head down her to say goodnight. Nymphadora held her gaze for a moment longer, and for a second Andromeda thought she was going to come back into the room, but then Remus whispered something to her and she reluctantly followed him out of the room.

A heavy sigh fell from Andromeda's lips and her smile faltered the moment her daughter and son-in-law were out of sight. She stood still for a moment longer, her eyes blinking rapidly before she turned and walked over to the large window on her right that overlooked the pond, crossing her arms protectively across her chest as she gazed out into the inky darkness beyond the sheet of glass.

Andromeda closed her eyes, the cuts and bruises on Nymphadora's face and arms painted on the insides of her eyelids, bringing tears to her eyes that, even though alone, she could not allow herself to shed. Instead she rested her head against the cool glass of the window staring down at pale, elegant hands she knew to be almost an exact duplication on the ones that had tried to kill her daughter hours before.

_"Love is whatever you can still betray," Bellatrix read her voice low and breathy, her eyes focused on the page before her. "Betrayal can only happen if you love," she continued, staring at the page for a moment longer._

"Well, I guess this means I can tell Druella what happened to her favorite pair of shoes," Bellatrix began finally looking up at her sister, a smile touching her lips a few seconds later as she shut the book she had been reading from with a satisfying 'thump'.

"After all, betrayal can only happen if you love, so when I'm spending your allowance, just remember … I love you," she finished blowing at kiss at Andromeda before laughing and running out of the room, the airy sound of her laughter echoing throughout the hallways as Andromeda chased her smiling even as she yelled her name. 

Andromeda straightened, turning her back to the window as if she could turn her back to the memory as well, her fingers brushing briefly over her eyes before she turned towards the door, her heart contracting with betrayal.

---

_Andromeda sighed as she settled herself against the old tree trunk and tilted her head back to observe the stars twinkling above her. Somewhere within the shining spattering of stars she knew there was a particular pattern that bore the same name as her._

"Looking for yourself again?" Bellatrix asked smirking as she lowered herself down onto the ground beside her sister. "Druella might have named the wrong daughter, Narcissa," she continued teasingly.

"It's Druella now, is it?" Andromeda asked turning her head to look at her older sister, quirking her eyebrow when her eyes landed on Bella's grinning face. "Does mother know you two are now on a first name basis?"

"I am the eldest," Bellatrix said responding without answering her question, her tone haughtily as her chin tilted up in an attempt to give weight to her feathery response.

"It's true, you are old," Andromeda murmured smiling as Bellatrix glared at her phrasing. "But somehow I don't think that's going to translate to her being Druella at the dinner table," she continued smiling widely when Bellatrix turned her head away from her in pointed silence.

"Anyway," Andromeda began a few minutes later, tiring of the silent treatment. "Did it ever occur to you that I might have been looking for you," she continued meeting Bellatrix's eyes when the older girl turned to face her once again, a small smile tugging at Bellatrix's lips as their eyes locked.

"You flatter me," Bellatrix purred softly, shifting on the ground, moving herself closer to Andromeda, pressing her body against her sister's arm, her lips coming to stop a scant distance away from Andromeda's ear.

"It's easy to flatter you," Andromeda breathed out her heart fluttering madly in her chest as it had been doing so often around Bellatrix those days, turning her head towards Bellatrix so that their faces were scant centimeters apart the pale moonlight lighting up Bellatrix's eyes.

"Because I'm so wonderful and you have innumerable glorious qualities to choose from?" Bellatrix asked her lips twitching though she managed to control her urge to smirk.

"No," Andromeda said shaking her head forcing a sad expression onto her face. "It's because you're too slow to pick up on sarcasm."

"Really?" Bellatrix asked sarcastically both eyebrows shooting up on her forehead causing Andromeda to smile brightly before she got the expression under control.

"It's okay, though," Andromeda assured Bellatrix as few moments later reaching out for her hand and cradling it in her own.

"And why's that?" Bellatrix asked her lips twitching again.

"Because you're cute," Andromeda replied blushing a little as she said it even though the words were part of a joke. "You don't need to be smart if you're cute. You can just dazzle people with your sparkling good looks. It's why I was looking for you in the stars," Andromeda continued as Bellatrix rolled her eyes at her. "You're out of this world."

Bellatrix moaned piteously before she dropped her forehead onto Andromeda's shoulder and shook it back and forth, muttering 'horrible, horrible' under her breath again, discretely inhaling her sister's scent as she pretended to be mortified by her.

"You do know that everyone says we look alike," Bellatrix began a few moments later once she had recovered from the horror of Andromeda's compliment, her eyes openly roaming over Andromeda's features now that she had a good excuse to study her. "You're really just praising yourself," she went on moving their joined hands to rest on Andromeda's thigh. "Are you sure you don't want some alone time, to bask in your interstellar good looks?"

"No, that's okay," Andromeda replied softly, a small uncertain smile touching her lips as she stared at Bellatrix. "Mother says its tacky to toot your own horn, so you need to stay so that I can guiltlessly blow yours."

Bellatrix grinned at that but remained silent, her hawk-like gaze focused intently on Andromeda as the silence stretched between them. It had been like that a lot between them lately, charged energy crackling between them in the quiet. Bellatrix knew what it was, though she had never felt the feeling before. She understood why she kept on staring at Andromeda's lips, and why she took every opportunity possible to touch her sister, she understood why her heart pounded in her chest. 

Bellatrix shifted against Andromeda, sliding down a little on the ground so that she could rest her head over her sister's heart. Andromeda gasped softly at the movement, but soon settled down and Bellatrix closed her eyes, listening to the sound of Andromeda's heart beating under her ear, her mind clearing and her body relaxing as Andromeda's hand tentatively moved to the top of her head to stroke her hair.

She had always found the effect that Andromeda had on her quite amazing. Bellatrix was often restless, it was one of the reasons she got in trouble at home and school so much. She just couldn't seem to control her impulses, and she would sometimes discover herself doing things, often against the rules, without even realizing that she was doing them. She just had so much energy inside that she had to be doing something all of the time, and there just weren't enough constructive activities to keep her busy. At night she had dreams of herself as a top, spinning around out of control, knocking over people and trees and buildings as she revolved around faster and faster until she had traveled over continents overturning cows and destroying fields and cities until she finally toppled over the earth.

Andromeda calmed her. She understood her. She knew what to say to make her laugh, or to make her sit still for a few moments. She knew how to sooth her anger when she began to rage, she knew what smile to use when Bellatrix needed cheering up or to simmer down. Andromeda was like her mirror-self, an entity that had been a part of her but that had gotten lost and separated along the way, and Bellatrix needed to keep her close, needed to see and feel her to feel whole.

"An," Bellatrix said softly, how many minutes later she had no idea. Andromeda's hand stilled. "You're heart is beating extremely fast," she continued knowing that Andromeda felt the same way about her as she felt about her sister, the constant, rapid pounding under her ear confirming it to her.

Andromeda glanced down at Bellatrix at a loss for what to say.

Bellatrix lifted her head from Andromeda's chest and moved so that they were sitting eye to eye again. "Do I make your heart beat fast, An?" Bellatrix asked softly, her eyes holding Andromeda's, the intensity of her gaze keeping her sister from looking away.

Andromeda nodded, swallowing as she did, not really wanting to admit the effect Bellatrix had on her but unable to deny the power of her gaze. She was like a fly in a web, and as Bellatrix licked her lips she could picture the spider slowly drawing closer.

Bellatrix reached for Andromeda's hand grasping it gently and leading it to her chest, placing it over her heart and pressing down so that Andromeda could feel the strong, rapid beat beneath. "It's the same with me," Bellatrix said quietly, a small but delighted smile tugging at her lips.

A matching smile appeared on Andromeda's lips a moment later, and the two sisters sat there in a warm silence smiling at each other, Bellatrix's heart pounding quickly under their joined hands.

And then the moment was broken as Bellatrix moved, her head darting forward rapidly closing the small distance between their faces so that she could press her lips against Andromeda's, her excitement building at the first touch of her sister's soft lips against her own. Bellatrix kissed her again, pressing her lips to Andromeda's again and again, with an energized haste, her lips sometimes missing Andromeda's directly and landing at the corner of her mouth or on her upper or bottom lip as her hands moved to Andromeda's hips.

Andromeda tensed at the first touch of Bellatrix's lips against her own, the speed of it surprising her, though she realized that it probably shouldn't have. When Bellatrix decided on something she did it, then, without any further thought or deliberation. If Bellatrix decided to kiss someone it would be without warning because that would take too long. After her momentary surprise however, Andromeda relaxed, a soft sigh falling from her lips as Bellatrix kissed them over and over again.

Bellatrix paused as she felt Andromeda's hand move to her face, cupping it in them. She pulled back reluctantly to look at her sister.

Andromeda smiled and leaned forward pressing her lips against Bellatrix's slowly, and deliberately, the kiss gentle and precise where Bellatrix's had been rushed and scattered.

"I knew you wouldn't be mad," Bellatrix said when Andromeda pulled back from her lips still cradling her face.

"You know me well," Andromeda said softly, smiling as she spoke, calm yet excited now that they had been able to release some of the tension that had been building between them.

"The best," Bellatrix said her lips curving up playfully before she leaned in again, kissing Andromeda once more.

_---_

__

Andromeda shook her head, an involuntary smile touching her lips as she watched Bellatrix's foot kick out from her broom in the direction of the Ravenclaw Beater, forcing him to dodge away in order to avoid her foot landing square in the center of his face, the Quaffle shooting by him as he swerved hitting one the Ravenclaw Seekers in the chest.

Around Andromeda cheers rose up from the Slytherin's that surrounded her, while the other houses booed loudly and others yelled things about their mother up at Bellatrix. Turning her head to the right, Andromeda watched as Narcissa's cheeks reddened and she shrunk back into the crowd, an affronted look on her face as the masses defamed the woman who had given birth to her. It was Narcissa's second year, but she still didn't seem to realize that hundreds of people cursing Bellatrix and their entire family out _**was**__ a regular occurrence at every Quidditch game Slytherin played and most they didn't since their sister's voice tended to carry and she had a very creative vocabulary. However, after three years, even though she knew Bellatrix was behaving like a complete wanker, Andromeda had come to sort of adore the way Bellatrix reveled in her villainy._

Andromeda lifted her eyes to the sky once more, her gaze immediately finding Bellatrix as the girl twirled her Bludger around her in hands like a sword, her eyes scanning the sky for someone she could beat, a small, excited smile playing at the corner of her lips.

"Your sisters an asshole," Weyland Winegard sneered brushing past Andromeda as Bellatrix began to fly through the sky once more, target in mind.

"It's a brave move that, bringing up assholes," Andromeda responded loudly enough that everyone around them could hear just as Weyland had, "considering what Alecto said she saw you and Kieran Duggle doing under the bleachers last week. Then again, I suppose it _**would**__ make you somewhat of an expert."_

If Weyland thought that fact alone would allow him to get away with insulting her sister, he was sorely mistaken. Asshole or not, Bellatrix was blood, her older and beloved sister, and it was one thing for her to think of her as a wanker but quite another entirely for Weyland fucking Winegard to insult her in front of their whole house.

Weyland stared at Andromeda as the Slytherin's surrounding them began to snicker, and then he walked hurriedly off without another word as the snickers began to turn into full bodied laughter and pointing.

Ignoring the hands slapping her on the back once Weyland was out of sight, Andromeda sighed softly and turned her eyes back up to the sky in search of Bellatrix. She didn't enjoy hurting people's feelings, but he had started it. It wasn't her fault she was cleverer than he was. Still, she felt rather bad about it. The teasing he'd endured after Alecto had first started mouthing off had just begun to die down and she knew that her comment would just start it up all over again. But he had insulted Bellatrix, and there was nothing else that she could have done.

A few moments after looking up again Andromeda spotted Bellatrix sailing gracefully through the air and felt her body begin to relax again. She loved watching Bellatrix fly. She was so elegant, her broom cutting effortlessly through the air as if it was an extension of her body. She loved to see the stray raven wisps of hair that had escaped Bellatrix's ponytail fluttering in front of her face as hawk-like eyes gazed around her, hunting, a dark, ethereal goddess of the sky. Then again, Andromeda thought with a soft smile, she couldn't really keep her eyes off of Bellatrix on the ground either.

"Did you see?" Bellatrix asked excitedly, grasping Andromeda's shoulders the moment she exited the locker room, her hands reaching out for Andromeda where her sister always waited for her before she had even laid eyes on the younger girl. "I think I knocked out a few teeth," she continued grinning as she released Andromeda's shoulders and looped her arm through her sisters. "They said I wasn't big enough to be a Beater," she went on as they strolled towards the garden. "The misogynist toadstools were just afraid of getting beaten by a girl."

"I'm not so sure it's girls they were afraid of," Andromeda smiled looking over at her sister proudly. "I think it may just be you."

Bellatrix stopped walking and held Andromeda's gaze for a long moment before breaking out into a wide, infectious grin. "It's seems they might have some intelligence then, more than I gave them credit for anyway. Anyone who can recognize my superiority must not be a complete idiot."

"It's true, brains, beauty, fabulous Quidditch skills … if people had any idea how demure and humble you were I'd have to beat them off of you with your bludger," Andromeda responded laughingly as Bellatrix mockingly preened for her and then looked shy and self-effacing. 

"Probably quite forcefully as well," Andromeda continued in a somber tone. "I'm a jealous creature, and the threat of an admirer stealing you from my heaving bosom would enrage me giving me supernormal strength." She was only half joking and Bellatrix knew it.

Bellatrix glanced around them. They were still within view of the castle and she could hear faint voices in the distance. Although she could see no one immediately around them, they were not really alone.

"They'll have to pry my cold, dead hands off of you," Bellatrix said returning her gaze to Andromeda, her eyes holding steadily on her sister's as she spoke in a rare, serious tone of voice. "Come on," she continued a second later, her eyes lightening up once again as she grabbed Andromeda's hand and began to drag her away from the garden and further away from the castle.

There was an old cabin abandoned cabin on the edge of the forbidden forest. A couple years before the teachers had realized that the older students were using it as a makeshift inn to gain a shameful sexual knowledge of each other and they cast enchantments around it to keep them out. However, Bellatrix had heard from Amycus Carrow, who had bribed Scarlett Crisp, who had overheard Prof. Dumbledore talking to Prof. McGonagal what the spells used on the cabin were, and she was certain that she could break herself and Andromeda in.

"Where are we going?" Andromeda asked as Bellatrix tugged her on.

"Where I can show you how much you don't need to worry about anyone talking me from you," Bellatrix responded stopping suddenly, the momentum of the run causing Andromeda to press heavily against her body as they came to a stop.

"Oh," Andromeda breathed out softly, acutely aware of the warmth of Bellatrix's body against her and the feel of her sister's breasts pressing against her own.

Andromeda smiled brightly.

Bellatrix returned it and grasping her hand once more continued to lead them towards the cabin where they could finally be alone.

"Slow down, Bella," Andromeda said softly as Bellatrix's hands began to tug at her panties as soon as she fell onto the bed. "For once we have time, let's enjoy it," she continued as Bellatrix pulled out her wand and pointed them at her panties, muttering "Obstructo Abeo," sighing a few seconds later as Andromeda felt the open air on her as she lay exposed to Bellatrix's hungry gaze.

"Can't," Bellatrix whispered softly, finally responding to Andromeda words her eyes momentarily lifting to meet Andromeda's gaze, her own eyes darkened with passion, looking almost purple as the light from the fire Andromeda had lit was reflected in them.

"Need you now," Bellatrix continued shivering slightly as her eyes burned into Andromeda's. And then Bellatrix's eyes fell away from her sister's and she leaned forward pressing her face into the soft, silky heat at the apex of Andromeda's legs, her nose pressed against the younger girl's clit as she breathed in deeply, inhaling Andromeda as her hands pushed her legs further apart.

Andromeda sighed, her hand falling between her legs to stroke Bellatrix's hair as her sister's tongue begun to move against her in firm, broad strokes, her fingers tangling in Bellatrix's raven tresses, tugging as the older girl's hands squeezed her things fiercely while she held her legs apart to devour Andromeda more easily.

Bellatrix's hands on her thighs hurt, but the sting was strangely pleasurable, and as Andromeda pictured bruises that would match the shape and size of Bellatrix's hands on her things the next morning, her hips jerked and she moaned tugging on Bellatrix's hair hard, pressing her face into her pussy, choking her on it, knowing that Bellatrix would want to go that way if it came to that.

A smile formed on Bellatrix's lips as Andromeda crushed her against her, her tongue swirling around her sister's clit more forcefully at the pressure.

"No," Bellatrix hissed as Andromeda slackened her hold on her head, allowing her room to breath when she began to shake and claw at her thighs, worried that she was actually suffocating her sister. "Hold me there, tight," Bellatrix continued her eyes burning feverishly into Andromeda's. She then lowered her face back between Andromeda's legs, her right hand momentarily leaving her sister's thigh to cover Andromeda's hand, pushing it encouraging her to hold her as forcefully as she had been before.

Andromeda's arm twitched as Bellatrix renewed her assault on her pussy, her arm automatically pressing Bellatrix tightly against her once more as her passion mounted, her other hand falling between her legs as well to help hold Bellatrix in place a few moments later.

Bellatrix ground her hips into the mattress as her head began to swim. She could barely breath, every time she inhaled all she smelt was Andromeda's pussy, and all that she tasted were her sister's juices. She was utterly and completely surrounded by Andromeda, and as her hands scratched at Andromeda's thighs, and her tongue pushed inside of her sister as far as it would, Bellatrix felt as if she were floating her mind doing cartwheels and somersaults as she went longer and longer breathing Andromeda instead of air.

Andromeda stiffened, her body tensing powerfully before it began to shake, her head flying back, slamming against the pillow behind her as she held Bellatrix in a place in a vice like grip, riding her face through her orgasm, her mind just barely aware of Bellatrix coming as well, her body trembling as her vision begin to blur and she almost lost consciousness, happily suffocated by her sister's pussy.

"You really couldn't wait, could you?" Andromeda asked smiling, her voice weak as she struggled to regain her breath, her hand resting loosely on top of Bellatrix's head which her sister just managed to weakly rest on her stomach as she sucked in deep breaths of air. 

"Look who's talking," Bellatrix rasped out softly, angling her head down a fraction of an inch so that she could kiss Andromeda's stomach. She might have requested that the treatment continue, but Andromeda had started it.

"You're insatiable," Andromeda responded gently stroking Bellatrix's hair as the other girl's breathing finally began to calm. "I'm just enthusiastic."

"If," Bellatrix murmured, pressing another kiss to Andromeda's stomach, and then another as she made her way up her sister's body. "By 'enthusiastic', you mean a dirty, horny slut that tried to choke her sister to death with her cunt then I completely agree."

"Bella!" Andromeda exclaimed sounding absolutely scandalized by her sister's words, however, the unbidden smile that spread across her lips as Bellatrix leaned over her took much of the weight away from her indignant exclamation.

"It's true, isn't it?" Bellatrix asked smiling down at Andromeda, her hand resting on her sister's hip. "You did try to …"

Andromeda leaned up pressing her lips against her sister's silencing her with a kiss. Bellatrix had been in such a hurry once they got into the cabin that she had barely had a chance to kiss her, and she liked kissing Bellatrix. Bellatrix was a very good kisser, a very good kisser who at the moment tasted of her which began to enflame Andromeda once more.

Sensing the younger girl's mounting passion, Bellatrix slowly began to trail her hand up Andromeda's torso to cup her breast.

"Uh uh," Andromeda said pulling away from Bellatrix's lips, grasping her sister's wandering hand in her own. "Now that you've got that out of your system, we go slow," she said, bringing Bellatrix's hand up to her lips, pressing her mouth against her palm. 

Bellatrix's passions were hard to control and Andromeda usually had very little say about how she came about her first orgasm. But once Bellatrix had expelled some of her passion, she was usually able to get her sister to slow down a little so that they didn't come within minutes of touching each other. Though when Bellatrix stayed keyed up and things continued to be hard and fast she never complained either. Watching Bellatrix fuck her, crazed with desire was even better than watching her fly.

Bellatrix groaned. She didn't like the idea of slow though she had to admit she always enjoyed the results of it.

"Fine," Bellatrix sighed, allowing Andromeda to kiss her slowly once more. "But I'm starting here," she continued a few seconds later bending her head down to Andromeda's chest, taking her nipple into her mouth, sucking firmly.

_---_

__

A soft sigh fell from Andromeda's lips as she stared up at the fabric of the canopy above her head.

"What's wrong?"

Andromeda turned her head to the side, Bellatrix had propped herself up on her arm and was staring down at her intently, her eyes appearing almost black in the faint light of her covered bed even though she knew that they were a vibrant blue virtually identical to her own. Bellatrix's fingers were trailing over her nude torso, running up and down between her breasts languidly, tracing swirling patterns over the gently rising and falling plains of her stomach.

Bellatrix was always like that after they had made love, gentle and reluctant to stop touching her once it was over, no matter how hard or frantic the act itself had been. Andromeda usually loved it when Bellatrix touched her so; she enjoyed the tender connection that remained between them, the continued intimacy, she luxuriated in her sister's complete and utter adoration of her and her body. But she was troubled at the moment, and Bellatrix's touch was agitating her.

"I was nearly run over by a 3rd year Hufflepuff this afternoon," Andromeda said her eyes meeting Bellatrix's momentarily before skittering away. "I suppose it was as much my fault as it was hers, I really wasn't watching where I was going. But … but before I could even begin the cycle of awkward apology she looked up at me and jumped back. She started shaking slightly a moment later and began stammering something I couldn't understand, completely and utterly terrified by the sight of me," Andromeda continued remembering the terror she saw in the girl's face as her eyes lifted and she saw who was standing in front of her. "She thought I was you, Bella," Andromeda went on her eyes drifting back over to Bellatrix's as she spoke. "She called me Ms. Bellatrix. Since when are you 'Ms. Bellatrix'?" Andromeda asked displeasure and agitation mixing in her voice. "Why was she so scared of you?"

Bellatrix was silent for a moment as she looked down at her little sister. She was certain that Andromeda already knew the answer to her own question.

"She's a Hufflepuff, An," Bellatrix said with a soft laugh a moment later, her fingers drifting to Andromeda's cheek to cup it gently. "Who knows why she would do anything?" It wasn't a real answer and they both knew it.

Andromeda's eyes skittered away from Bellatrix's again after her sister's evasion, an even deeper look of trepidation on her face as she did.

Bellatrix sighed, that confirmed it. Andromeda had most definitely heard the rumors that she and some of the other pureblood Slytherin's were taking it upon themselves to ensure that the Mudbloods at Hogwarts knew their place.

Bellatrix shifted off of her elbow and lay back on the mattress stretched out beside Andromeda, a scowl on her beautiful face as she stared up at the top of the canopy, Andromeda's surly twin. She was disturbed by Andromeda's displeasure with her. Andromeda was a Black, she was her sister, she was blood, she should not have been siding with a Mudblood fucking Hufflepuff instead of with her own sister. Andromeda should have understood, Andromeda always understood. Why didn't she understand?

"What does it matter?" Bellatrix asked suddenly, agitated and alive after the brief still that had descended between them. "Why did you even ask me that?" she demanded pushing herself up onto her elbow again to glare down at Andromeda. "She's a Mudblood, what should I care about the feelings of baggage? Why should this things shabby, sniveling, feebleness have anything to do with me?"

"Bella!" Andromeda exclaimed turning to look at her sister as Bellatrix finished her rant, her eyes wide as she stared up at her. "Don't be so horrible," she continued softly as Bellatrix continued to stare at her unrepentant. "Just because she's a Mud … Muggle-born, it doesn't mean she shouldn't be treated with common decency."

"C-Common decency," Bellatrix sputtered indignantly blinking rapidly. "Common, An, certainly she is that. As common as can be, in fact likely deliciously low. Common, yes to be sure, but decency," Bellatrix continued scoffing loudly. "I can't see where decency comes in at all. If this commoner had any decency she would have stayed home with the rest of the rabble and filth and left wizarding to those who deserve it. Don't you see, when it comes to Mudbloods, the term 'common decency' is quite oxymoronic, the two cannot coexist, for if the baggage had any decency at all it would be on the street with the rest of the filth instead of monopolizing bedtime conversation and bothering me before sleep."

Andromeda gaped at her sister momentarily. She knew that Bellatrix felt as strongly about blood purity as their parents did, and she had heard her sister chatting at family functions and with others in their house about the sad state of world these days, but she had never heard her speak with such vitriol before. It had seemed almost academic to her in the past, or perhaps she had just wanted it to be the silly, ignorant philosophical rambling of youth, but with the rumors Bellatrix had just all but confirmed, and the passionate dislike in her voice, Andromeda could not dismiss her sister's feelings as academic anymore.

"You really mean that, don't you?" Andromeda asked her gaze becoming flinty as she looked at her sister.

"Well, of course I mean it!" Bellatrix raved. "Why on Hecate's green earth wouldn't I mean it? Honestly, An," Bellatrix griped. "What's gotten into you tonight?"

"I don't know," Andromeda responded her voice touched with frost. "In any case, it's late. Goodnight," she continued turning her back to Bellatrix and closing her eyes.

"Oh for the love of …" Bellatrix muttered irritably watching as Andromeda turned her back to her. "How infantile," she continued settling back down on the mattress herself staring up at the canopy once again. "Be a sulky baby if you like, it makes no difference to me. I'll be glad to be rid of your sweaty palms and mouth-breathing for one night," Bellatrix continued to mutter as Andromeda ignored her.

"Silly, ridiculous child," Bellatrix complained again minutes after silence had fallen between them once more. "You're very fortunate I'm so understanding and mature," she went on shifting on the bed, moving closer to Andromeda, draping her arm over her sister's waist a moment later, pulling the dead weight of Andromeda's body against her, her eyes beginning to flutter shut as the familiar warmth of Andromeda's body settled against her.

Andromeda made no response as Bellatrix snuggled behind her, or as the older girl gently kissed the back of her neck. It was Bellatrix's way of saying sorry; the loving touches an apology without words. Many times when they had gotten into arguments Bellatrix had then hugged her close as she was then, and rained soft kisses over her skin until a smile spread across Andromeda's lips and she turned in Bellatrix's arms hugging and kissing her back, soothed and charmed by her sister's loving touch.

Andromeda remained silent and unresponsive in Bellatrix's embrace, unable to allow her sister's lips to wash away the bile they had just spewed.

_---_

__

"Why so glum chum?" Sirius asked throwing his arm around Andromeda's shoulder after sidling up beside her in the hall.

Andromeda gave him a small smile before sighing. "It's Bellatrix," she said softly.

"Ah, yes," Sirius said nodding sagely. "She has that effect on most people."

Andromeda stopped walking and turned to face him, her eyes hard before she blinked and shook her head. "Sirius," she said tiredly, not in the mood for one of this Bellatrix rants. The two of them hated each other, passionately, and she usually found herself in the middle of any fights that they got into, and they got into fights often. But she couldn't deal with that at the moment.

"Sorry," Sirius murmured softly, looking away from her to scan the hallways awkwardly for a moment.

Andromeda considered him for a moment and could see that he meant it.

"I'm sorry," she said a few seconds later beginning to walk again, their sudden stop had drawn some attention. "I mean, you're right," she went as they made their way through the halls. "She's …"

"A junior Death Eater?" Sirius volunteered careful to keep the contempt that was usually present whenever he spoke of Bellatrix out of his voice for the sake of the only family member he had whom he actually liked.

Andromeda sighed, her hand lifting to cover to her heart after Sirius spoke.

"I know you two are close," Sirius began looking away from Andromeda as he spoke. He had an idea just how close they were, but it wasn't spoken of and he wasn't going to say anything more explicit about the matter. Truthfully, he didn't really understand it, and though he knew that the Black family had a long history of being far too fond of each other, he had expected better from Andromeda somehow. But, that's how it was in their family, and despite this peculiarity Andromeda was good people. "She's changing Dromeda," he continued softly. "And unless I've seriously misjudged you, where she's going, you can't follow."

"She's my sister," Andromeda responded closing her eyes briefly and angling her head to the side in an attempt to control the sudden wave of despair that crashed over her at Sirius' words. "I … love her," she continued, the slight waver in her voice not lost on Sirius leaving no doubt in his mind as to how she loved Bellatrix. "I can't just give up on her. I know you don't like her, but Sirius," Andromeda said clutching his hand. "She's not bad … I mean I know her, I know her better than anyone. You know that," she said although she paused and stared at him after she spoke as if waiting for him to confirm her statement, which he did with a nod. "She can be so gentle Sirius, and funny, and sweet. Oh, Sirius, she can be so incredibly sweet sometimes," Andromeda sighed, suddenly looking around them, her pace quickening even though nobody was paying attention to them. "She loves me," Andromeda said quietly, her voice barely a whisper.

"I believe that," Sirius said holding firmly onto Andromeda's hand, knowing somehow that she needed the contact. "The only time she resembles a human being is when she's around you, it's positively miraculous. It must be love," he continued having the sense to look ashamed when Andromeda looked over at him sharply.

"There's good in her," Andromeda said firmly. "She's surrounded by horrible influences. Her friends are absolutely poisonous," she went on thinking about the Carrows, and Malfoy, and Crabbe and Goyle. "But don't you see that's why I need to stick by her. She listens to me, she's always listened to me," Andromeda said, her voice becoming fainter, drifting off uncertainly for a moment before her shoulders straightened and she continued. "I need to be there so that she has a good influence, so that she knows she's loved. So that she can change back, back to my Bella," Andromeda finished looking over at Sirius.

Sirius was quiet for a moment, not sure how to go about shattering Andromeda's hopes for Bellatrix in a gentle way.

"Were you a bad influence before?" Sirius asked gently.

"What?" Andromeda asked blinking at him.

"In the past have you been a bad influence on her? Have you gone on rants comparing Muggles to cows, or Muggle-borns to parasites and leeches? Have you ever supported the idea that werewolves should be slaughtered as children so that they can't procreate as adults?" Sirius asked, his voice hardening a little at the last one as he remembered Lucius Malfoy talking loudly about the idea in front of Remus.

"No, Merlin, no. You know I don't believe any of that," Andromeda said affronted as she stared at her cousin.

"Bellatrix does," Sirius said not unkindly. "She minds her mouth for the most part around you, but I've heard and seen things. She told Eros Dingby that her sister should have been exposed as a baby so as not to drain the system," Sirius said trying very hard to keep his voice neutral. He didn't need to say more, Andromeda knew that Eros Dingby's sister was a squib, they all did.

Andromeda turned her head from him as if she didn't want to hear what he had to say, but it was already too late. 

"You've been a good influence, Dromeda," Sirius went on knowing that it had to be said for Andromeda's own good. "You are a good influence. She knows you love her and she still does what she does. You can't change someone if they don't want to change, Dromeda. No matter how much you love something, you need to be able to admit when it's lost, or else you'll lose yourself too. Trust me, I know. It's why I'm sleeping on the Potter's couch every school vacation," Sirius finished gently. He'd found himself surrounded by poisonous influences as well, and he had known the damage they could do to him and chose to leave rather than change. It hadn't been easy for him, he loved his mother and his brother despite how they were, but he had to let them go. Bellatrix was poison now, and as much as Andromeda loved her she had to let her go too.

"No," Andromeda said softly. "I'm not convinced of that, not yet. She's not gone yet, Sirius. There's hope, there's always hope. I can't give up on her," she said shaking her head, certain that she sounded like a fool, and not caring. For Bellatrix she would risk being a fool, she would risk being wrong, she would risk it all.

Sirius sighed. He was prepared for this; he didn't think he'd be able to change her mind in one walk to the Great Hall.

"Okay," he said nodding, clearly not onboard with her reasoning, but not questioning it either. "But, it looks and sounds to me like you could use a little break from rescuing souls in any case," he continued grinning over at her before tucking a strand of floppy black hair out of his eye.

"Let me guess, you know the perfect thing to distract me?" Andromeda asked smiling back. Sirius's grin had always been somewhat infectious.

"Yep," Sirius said sounding very pleased with himself.

"Well?" Andromeda asked lifting her eyebrow at him pointedly though her eyes were amused.

"Homework," Sirius declared nodding holding Andromeda's gaze, only continuing when he was certain she realized he was serious. "You, cousin, are as brilliant as you are gorgeous and my friend Teddy Tonks and I are in serious need of some potions help. So what do you say, Dromeda, is there room in your heart to help one more Black?"

"Ass-kisser," Andromeda grumbled as she looked into his eyes.

Sirius bit down on his bottom lip. He was fairly certain kissing her ass was Bellatrix's job, but he knew that bit of sarcasm would not be appreciated…ever. "Pretty please," he moaned slapping his hands together and holding them in front of his face.

"Fine," Andromeda said though she wasn't convinced that doing Sirius and his friend's potions homework for them would really cheer her up. "Who's Teddy Tonks, anyway?"

"He's in Hufflepuff, you'll get along famously I'm sure. He's an absolutely strapping young lad, not that I'm an expert on that or anything," Sirius responded grinning. "Let me just conduct a quick compatibility test," Sirius went on clearing his throat. "Fart jokes, yay or nay?"

Andromeda moaned piteously. She was fortunes fool.

_---_

__

She was an accomplice.

"Get out!" Andromeda yelled mindless of her staring roommates as Bellatrix stood by the side of her bed. Her roommates were used to Bellatrix occasionally coming to visit her, but they had never witnessed a scene like the one they were seeing then before.

"Don't take that tone with me," Bellatrix replied her voice shaking with anger. She didn't look back, but Andromeda knew that she was very aware of the eyes on them, and she wouldn't lose face in front of anyone to her little sister.

"It's my room and I'll talk to you however the hell I want to," Andromeda screamed. "Get out!"

At this Andromeda saw her roommates begin to close their curtains, apparently afraid that she had finally gone too far, hiding so as to get caught up in the fire when Bellatrix finally exploded.

"You presumptuous, arrogant, little twerp," Bellatrix raged reaching out for Andromeda and grasping her by the shoulders painfully. "You will mind your fucking mouth, Andromeda or …"

"Or what, Bella?" Andromeda asked with bravery she didn't quite feel seeing her sister's anger up close and directed at her for the first time. She had seen Bellatrix anger before, and early that day she had seen what cruelty resided in her sister up close, but she was not prepared to have that anger and danger aimed at her. "Are you going to hit me? Are you going to practice your Crucio spell on me like you did with, Nan?"

"Is that what you want?" Bellatrix asked her tone suddenly icy cool as she released Andromeda and stood up straight. "The only reason that you could possibly be acting so foolishly is if you wanted me to punish you. And you have been so bad lately, An," Bellatrix said removing her wand and pointing it at her sister, her tone wounded and her eyes misting as she stared down at her sister. "Consorting with that blood-traitor and his Mudblood friends," she hissed a single tear streaming down from her eye. "Do you have any idea how you've hurt me? What shame you have brought upon me?"

"What shame I've brought upon _**you**__?" Andromeda repeated incredulously. "You tortured a girl for fun today, and you're ashamed of me?" Andromeda continued her voice cracking, tears coming to her own eyes and streaming down her cheeks. "What's happened to you Bella, where have you gone? What's become of you? Look! Look at you!" Andromeda cried. "You're pointing your wand at me. Your sister! I love you more than anything in the world and you're pointing your wand at me! Do it!" Andromeda said her voice shaking. "Do it then, if you hate me so much. Curse me! I don't care. I don't understand anything anymore, so just do it. At least pain will make sense."_

Bellatrix stared at Andromeda for a moment as her sister shook in front of her, trying to hold back her tears. It was strange, things were suddenly hazy in her mind and when the picture began to clear and she saw Andromeda crying she didn't quite understand how and why it had come about. She looked down at her hand, almost surprised to see her wand in it even though she knew she had drawn it.

She tucked it away.

"I don't want to hurt you," Bellatrix said softly, crawling onto the bed beside Andromeda, pulling the curtains closed behind her. "I'm sorry, An," she went on softly, settling herself beside Andromeda, snaking her arms behind her sister so that she could draw her into her arms. "I love you," Bellatrix said softly. "I wouldn't hurt you, I wouldn't," she said desperately fear flaring in her chest for some reason she did not understand.

"I've missed you," Bellatrix continued kissing the top of Andromeda's head. "I've missed you so much. I was mad, I was jealous," she said tightening her hold on Andromeda. "You've been spending so much time with Sirius, and you've been so cold with me," she said her mind wandering to the last few times she visited Andromeda in her bed. Andromeda snuggled with her, and kissed her but would not allow her to touch her in any other way. Bellatrix was sometimes rough with her when they were together, but she had never forced Andromeda to do anything, and when her sister stiffened as her hand fell between her legs, and she brought her hand to her cover her mouth to stop herself from crying, Bellatrix stopped trying to touch her. She stopped, but she didn't understand, and Bellatrix didn't do well with being confused.

"Amycus Carrow said that you're dating that Mudblood Tonks," Bellatrix said, her eyes losing focus as she thought about that filth touching her sister, her fingers digging into Andromeda's arms unconsciously as her mind assaulted her with horrible, terrifying images of that thing inside of Andromeda, touching her as only she had before.

"I'm not," Andromeda said automatically, though she wasn't entirely sure it was true. Bellatrix was beginning to scare her. "Bella, please, your fingers," Andromeda continued her hand moving to cover Bellatrix's. "You're hurting me."

"Hurting you?" Bellatrix asked blinking, looking for the world as if she had no idea where she was or what she was doing. "I …" she began, but she looked down and saw that her nails had drawn blood in a few spots on Andromeda's arm. "Oh," Bellatrix said as if waking up from a long nap. "Oh, oh, my love," she went on bending down, pressing her lips against Andromeda's flesh, kissing the wounds she had made, licking up the blood as she stroked her sister's arm tenderly. "I'm sorry," Bellatrix said a few moments later, her lips slightly reddened with Andromeda's blood. "I'm sorry," she repeated her eyes watering as her lips trembled.

Andromeda started at Bellatrix, she had never seen her sister look so scared and remorseful. There was no doubt in her mind that Bellatrix was sorry, that she was horrified by what she had unknowingly done. Yet, it didn't calm Andromeda; it scared her even more that Bellatrix was capable of hurting her without even being aware of it. Despite that, Bellatrix's anxiety was like a physical force, and Andromeda could feel it sweeping over her.

Bellatrix sighed as Andromeda reached out for her and pulled her into a hug, burying her face in her sister's shoulder a moment later, breathing in the smell of her as she wrapped her arms around her waist. "I love you, I love you," Bellatrix whispered against her skin, her tears dotting Andromeda's nightdress.

"I love you too," Andromeda repeated, meaning it, despite all that she had seen that day and all of the things they had said to each other.

Bellatrix kissed her neck and Andromeda sighed, exposing her neck to her sister's lips, her heartbeat quickening as she felt Bellatrix ghost kisses over her flesh. Bellatrix's hand moved from around her, trailed up her torso to cup her breast and Andromeda sighed, her hand moving to Bellatrix's covering it, pressing the hand more firmly against her encouraging Bellatrix to touch her.

She had missed this; she had missed Bellatrix's closeness, her scent, the feel of her breath tickling her skin, the touch of her hands. Oh, how she'd missed those glorious, tender, teasing, strong, talented, slender, beautiful loving hands trailing over her body. Hands that had grasped a wand that afternoon and pointed it at a fifteen year old girl, and her lips, those beautiful, full red lips. Lips that had curled up with malice and hissed "Crucio," and smiled gleefully as the girl in front of her twitched and sobbed.

Andromeda pulled away from Bellatrix's lips and pushed herself back until she was seated on the edge of the bed, the curtains surrounding her bed resting on her back.

She was an accomplice.

She had come across the scene, she had yelled for Bellatrix to stop as her poisonous friends laughed. She had run up behind Bellatrix and hugged her, her right hand extending to touch her sister's trying to get her to lower it as she whispered desperately in her ear trying to get her to stop.

And Bellatrix had laughed. She had turned her head and kissed her cheek and laughed.

And she had stumbled back horrified, pressing herself against the wall when she bumped into it watching her sister glow, feeling sick to her stomach as Bellatrix reveled in her villainy.

Then as Bellatrix's friends stepped forward to have their own sick fun, Andromeda had heard footsteps coming. Bella and the other two were too absorbed in their twisted antics to hear them, but Andromeda did and she grabbed her sister's hand and pulled her away, dragging her out of sight just as Prof. McGonagal had rounded the corner.

Bellatrix had tortured a girl for fun that afternoon and she had helped her get away with it.

"What's wrong?" Bellatrix asked softly when Andromeda pulled away from her, her hand soft as it came to rest on Andromeda's cheek as she closed the distance between them.

Andromeda's lips parted but no sound came out, and then she started to cry, her hand moving to cover her mouth to muffle the sound as great, heaving sobs overwhelmed her.

Sirius was right, Bellatrix had changed her. She had become weak and compromised, willing to over look serious grievances because of her shameful desire for her sister. Bellatrix was nice to her, Bellatrix was gentle with her, Bellatrix loved her and she wanted so desperately for that to be enough.

"Shh, shh," Bellatrix cooed as she lay Andromeda down on the mattress, her eyes only leaving her sister's tortured face when she reached into her robes for her wand to cast the silencing and aversion spells that had become second nature to her. "I'm sorry," Bellatrix continued kissing Andromeda's cheeks. "I love you," she said firmly, a note of challenge in her voice as if she expected Andromeda to disagree. "I'll show you," Bellatrix said gently, bending down to press her lips against Andromeda's. "I'll be slow."

Andromeda shuddered, but said nothing as Bellatrix began to touch her softly, gently, slowly. The tears that had been flowing from her starting once again as she felt her body arch into Bellatrix's hand, and a strong throb start between her legs.

She was an accomplice.

Bellatrix kissed Andromeda's wet cheek, and her nose, she kissed her forehead and her chin, and then her lips once more as her fingers slipped beneath the damp fabric of Andromeda's panties.

"I love you," Bellatrix whispered softly, touching her forehead to Andromeda's as she slipped inside of her. "Nice and slow," she breathed out as Andromeda's hips began to move with her. "Just like you like it," she said smiling taking her eyes off of Andromeda for a moment so that she could kiss her lips. "It's okay now, right?" Bellatrix asked her eyes on Andromeda again, looking at her searchingly, hopefully. Andromeda didn't think she had heard a tone like that from Bellatrix since she was five or six years old.

Andromeda reached out, her fingers brushing over Bellatrix's lips before she began to cry again, her hand moving behind Bellatrix's head to draw her lips down to hers. She couldn't look at her anymore; she couldn't look into those hopeful, loving eyes knowing what lay else lay behind them.

It wasn't okay now. Nothing was right, everything was wrong, Bellatrix was wrong, she was wrong, what they were doing was wrong. It was all wrong … and she was an accomplice.

---

_Andromeda laughed as Ted twirled her around on the makeshift dance floor, her hair flying freely behind her as they glided across the wooden surface, the sun warming their faces as claps and laughter sounded around them._

Andromeda had never imagined that she would be married in a simple white dress in the middle of an enchanted field, her first dance with husband barefoot as birds chirped around them. It was so much better than the large, regimented, extravagant, spectacle she had always pictured in her head, so much better. It felt like a celebration instead of a business party, as it should.

Laughing, Andromeda took the glass of wine that appeared beside her and sipped it, the excited, happy voices chatting around her no more than a pleasant din as she smiled and laughed seemingly unable to stop.

"Oh, what the fuck is she doing here?" Sirius growled, surprising those around him, everyone's eyes turning in the direction he was glaring in.

Andromeda's heart skipped.

Bellatrix. It was Bellatrix. She was standing in a clump of trees leaning against one of the trunks a hundred meters or more away from them, but there was no doubt in her mind that the dark figure watching them was Bellatrix.

"Stay here, Dromeda," Sirius said handing his glass to James. "I'll take care of her," he said his eyes narrowing.

"No," Andromeda said softly, reaching out to touch Sirius's arm, halting him. "I'll do it," she said meeting his disapproving gaze. "I need to do it."

Sirius looked back towards Bellatrix, his jaw clenching, but he made no further move towards her.

Andromeda took a deep breath, and then held her glass out for Ted, moving towards her sister the moment it was out of her hands.

Andromeda's pace slowed as she got closer to Bellatrix and began to be able to make out her features. Under the heavy eye shadow she had taken to wearing, Bellatrix's eyes were focused on her unblinking, no emotion visible behind them. Her lips, blood red as usual, were curled slightly in a mixture of anger and distaste and her body, though she was leaning against a tree, was coiled with tension. At that moment, Bellatrix looked every inch the predator she had turned out to be.

When Andromeda came to a stop in front of her sister they stared at each other silently, the air between them crackling again as it had so long ago, but this time with fear, anger and resentment instead of tender longing desire.

"Why?" Bellatrix asked finally breaking the silence, wincing and turning her head to the side as she spoke even as her eyes pierced Andromeda. She didn't need to say more, Andromeda understood all that the single hissed word encompassed. 

"Because where you were going, I couldn't follow," Andromeda responded softly, her heart aching for her sister as Bellatrix's lips curled and she breathed in deeply, her eyes squeezing shut.

Andromeda's hand twitched by her side wanting to reach out for Bellatrix. She could see her sister's misery written in the painfully tense set of her shoulder and her drawn features. The predator she had seen when she walked over to Bellatrix was gone, a wounded animal curling in on itself to stop the pain left in its place. Andromeda wanted to try and comfort Bellatrix, with every fiber of her being she wanted to reach out and draw her sister into her arms and kiss her head and tell her that everything would be fine. But everything wouldn't be fine and a hug would not resolve the issues between them.

"You chose a _**Mudblood**__ over your family, over your own blood," Bellatrix hissed shaking silently, pushing away from the tree so that she was standing upright in front of Andromeda, her body trembling as they looked at each other. She could as well have been accusing Andromeda of stabbing her, or beating her from the hurt and disillusionment evident in her voice._

"No, Bella," Andromeda replied shaking her head again and again, tears being to pool in her eyes. "I chose myself," she continued fervently glancing away for a moment to try and pull herself together. "I did what I needed to do to be able to live with myself."

Bellatrix stared at her shaking her head to herself though she didn't speak. Then she began to pace still shaking her head as her hand drifted up to her hair to tuck at it.

"Do you love him?" Bellatrix asked suddenly stopping and turning to face Andromeda once more. Her eyes were wide as if the idea had just occurred to her and her voice wavered, a nauseated expression coming to her face as if the very idea caused her physical pain. Her hand fluttered to her stomach and as she stared at Andromeda she looked as if she were going to be sick.

"Yes," Andromeda responded simply forcing herself to look at Bellatrix, to see her face contorted in revulsion and hate and to remember it.

"Do," Bellatrix began before pausing seemingly overcome, her hand lifting to clutch at her head again. "Do you love him as much as you love me?" she finally managed to get out. She'd heard something, or rather a lack of something, in Andromeda's response that forced the question out of her mouth.

Andromeda sighed deeply. "No," she said her eyes closing for a second as she took a deep breath.

She loved Ted, she did. She would be a good wife to him, and would support him, and care for him, and she was certain that they would have a happy life together, but she did not burn with passion for him. She did not ache for him when he was out of her sight for too long as she had yearned for Bellatrix. She did not spend hours gazing at him adoringly tears coming to her eyes from the beauty of him like she had with Bellatrix. Bellatrix was her sister as well as her lover, she had known her almost since the moment she exited the womb and until a few months ago they had shared almost every experience there was worth having in life together.

"No," Andromeda repeated quietly blinking rapidly. "I doubt I'll ever love anyone the way I loved you," Andromeda continued. And then she looked up sharply, her gaze focusing intently on Bellatrix. "I didn't love him more. Ted wasn't the enemy that destroyed us," she went on softly, "life was."

Bellatrix did not respond to her right away. Instead the hawk-like eyes that Andromeda used to drown in looked beyond her to the field where her wedding guests were standing around in clumps watching them while trying to pretend they weren't the least bit interested by what was going on between the sisters under the shade of the trees.

"Come with me," Bellatrix said focusing on Andromeda once again. Her tone was clear as she spoke, strong, her decision seeming to calm her down. "It's not too late."

The truth was that it would take her a little while for her to overcome her revulsion at the knowledge that Andromeda had let that filth inside of her body, though she suspected killing him would help to ease the pain. And she would have to exert quite a bit of energy to convince people that Andromeda had simply gone temporarily insane and was not _**really**__ a blood traitor. But she could and would do it for her sister. As much misery and heartache as the woman had caused her she did not feel whole without Andromeda and she wanted her back. She needed her back. She could feel herself spinning out of control towards the edge of the earth and she needed Andromeda to catch her, as she always had._

"Yes," Andromeda said taking Bellatrix's hand in hers, "it is," she continued gently pushing up her sister's sleeve to reveal an ugly back shape. "You've already chosen, Bella," Andromeda went on a tear falling from her eye as her fingers ran lightly over the dark mark on Bellatrix's arm. "You chose and it wasn't me," she said drawing her fingers away from the mark. "I love you, I'll always love you, but I can't go down that road with you," she finished releasing her sisters hand.

"No," Bellatrix whispered so softly that Andromeda didn't hear her the first time though she saw her lips move. "No," Bellatrix said again, louder this time, loud enough Andromeda could hear. "No," she repeated again. "No, no, no, no, no!" she cried yanking her wand out of her robes.

"Paries Parietis!" Bellatrix screamed jabbing her wand in front of her viciously.

Andromeda gasped as light exploded from the tip of Bellatrix's wand, her hand flying to her heart as she turned around to see a huge brick wall forming in the air in front of her, blotting out the view of wedding party within seconds. As she turned back around to face Bellatrix, Andromeda could hears cries coming from the distance, the sudden appearance of the wall no doubt alarming the others, and she knew, as her eyes met Bellatrix's, that they were racing towards them.

"I love you," Bellatrix said her voice an angry disbelieving whine. Andromeda couldn't say no, she didn't accept it, she couldn't understand it. "I _**love**__ you," she continued, her voice plaintive and then she grabbed Andromeda by the shoulder and kissed her hard, the caress messy and imprecise, their teeth knocking against each other as Bellatrix crushed Andromeda against her body._

Andromeda reached up placing her hand gently on her sister's cheek opening her mouth to Bellatrix, letting her tongue slip inside, stroking Bellatrix's cheek softly with her finger encouraging the other woman to slow down the kiss until their tongues met desperately, but tenderly.

"I know you do," Andromeda breathed out softly when they pulled apart for air, her heart weeping for Bellatrix and herself as she spoke. "I know you do," she repeated her thumb stroking Bellatrix's cheek softly as tears fell from her eyes. "But it's not enough."

Andromeda turned her head to the side watching as wand after wand pointed in their direction, fierce faces staring at them.

"Don't," Andromeda called out lifting her hand as much as she could to ward them off. She understood why they were all ready to attack but it wasn't necessary, she was sure.

Bellatrix was still standing in front of her when the others arrived behind the wall. Her hands were wrapped around Andromeda's throat and she stared at her murderously. But what the others couldn't see from their position was that Bellatrix's hands were loose on her neck, more resting against her flesh than fastened around it. Bellatrix was homicidally mad at her, but she could not do it, as much as her expression indicated she wanted to, she was not strangling her.

The others kept their wands raised and pointed at Bellatrix but no one cast a spell as they watched confused and mesmerized as Andromeda lifted her hand to cover one of Bellatrix's stroking the skin softly as she stared into her sister's eyes.

They stood like that for minutes, Bellatrix's hands wrapped loosely around Andromeda's neck while Andromeda caressed her hand gently. And then suddenly Bellatrix withdrew her hands, yanked them away from Andromeda's body and wiped them on her robes as if she had suddenly discovered that she was covered in scorpions or fire ants.

"I'm sorry," Andromeda said when Bellatrix turned her murderous, accusatory eyes towards her.

They looked at each other silently for a few moments and then Bellatrix's expression changed. Her face slackened and her eyes became dull instead of burning with fire. She blinked and when her gaze settled on Andromeda again she looked bored and indifferent.

"Marry a Mudblood," Bellatrix muttered shaking her head sounding utterly bewildered and flabbergasted as if someone had asked her to milk a pig, or walk a cat. Her eyes drifted over towards Ted, staring at him as she if she couldn't identify what species he was. "What a childish, dreadful, brainless thing to do!" she continued a moment later, dragging her gaze back over to Andromeda. "Sorry," she went on scoffing. "Sorry," she repeated her tone utterly contemptuous. "What should I care about the feelings of baggage?

Andromeda sucked in a deep breath at her sister's words deeply wounded by them though she tried not to show it. She need not have bothered trying to hide her feelings however because Bellatrix was no longer looking at her, she was looking around her, her nose wrinkled as she angled her head back as if trying to move herself as far away from the people around her as possible while standing still, her body almost comically arched back as she sought every centimeter space she could put between her and the people in front of her.

Andromeda straightened her back. She couldn't really say that she expected more from Bellatrix but it still hurt. 

Without a word Bellatrix turned her back to Andromeda again and began to walk further into the thicket of trees.

"No matter what you say, Bella," Andromeda called out to her sister's back. "Despite the horrible things you've done, I still love you."

Bellatrix halted at the words and then turned slightly looking over her shoulder so that she could see Andromeda.

"Silly, brainless baggage," Bellatrix murmured her eyes lancing Andromeda, focused and intense once more despite her casual tone. "I spit on your love. I shit on your love. You wicked, stupid, gutless creature. You disgust me," she continued her tone losing its blasé tone becoming harsher with every word as her face contorted with loathing. "I've already forgotten you, I've burned you from our tapestry and now my memory and heart! I've cut you from my heart," Bellatrix continued the rage leaving her face as quickly as it had appeared, the look replaced with a confused expression. "But, no … no, not from my heart," she said laughing a little her eyes darting about, "that's utterly ridiculous of course since I no longer have one," she finished her eyes finding Andromeda's again as she staring at her blankly.

And then she turned back around and began to walk again her hand disappearing into her robes a few seconds later before she vanished in a cloud of smoke.

Andromeda stood watching the spot that Bellatrix had disappeared from focused on nothing.

"Dromeda."

Andromeda blinked at the word, her name, it called her back to herself and she turned from the spot where she had last seen her sister. She thought it was Ted who called her, but it might have been Sirius, or any number of people she was barely aware of.

"More wine I think," Andromeda said smiling easily, surprised by how simple it was to pretend she was fine. At the end of her time with Bellatrix she had gotten very good at lying to the world, and to herself. "Definitely more wine," she continued laughing lightly, moving forward through the space where the wall had been heading towards the dance floor. "And something up-tempo, I think."

---

Andromeda fought her way through the crowd firing spells left and right, behind her and in front as she made her way through the mass of people. She wasn't interested in dueling, the curses flying from her wand were no more than a machete cutting through the thicket of people in her way as she scanned the crowded for a purple or a deathly raven head. Her daughter was all she had left and she was not going to stay at home and hope and pray while Nymphadora was in danger.

Andromeda's eyes caught on a dark figure, a shock of recognition tearing through her as they did. She remembered that stance; she knew the gracefully predatory movements that were playing out in front of her.

Bellatrix.

Andromeda ducked just in time to avoid a spell flying at her face. Spinning she crouched down on her knees and lifted her wand at the Death Eater behind her. "Stupify!" she cried sending him flying backwards her eyes already turned away from him and scanning the crowd once more by the time he crashed into the wall.

Finally Andromeda spotted her. Bellatrix was standing in place, her hauntingly dark form almost serene in repose as she stood still as a statue. Her wand was pointed in front of her aiming at something as curses and people moved around the frozen goddess, a symphony of colours exploding all around her lighting her up though none touched her.

Andromeda turned her head following Bellatrix's gaze wondering why the tip of her wand had not exploded in colour yet. And then she saw what had captured her sister's attention. Nymphadora fought meters away from where Bellatrix was standing, her wand a constant source of light as curse after curse shot from it while she fought three Death Eaters at once, her eyes narrowed with concentration, her lips curled in determination as she fought.

Andromeda turned back towards Bellatrix. Her sister had a perfect shot, Nymphadora didn't realize that she was there, that she was being stalked, and there was an opening in crowed between them. Nothing stood in Bellatrix's way and still Bellatrix paused.

Andromeda jerked forward, her body moving before her mind was aware of it, her movements awkward and ungainly as she stumbled desperately through the crowd shoving and kicking and cursing her way to Bellatrix, her heart screaming.

"Expelliarmus!" Andromeda cried as a figure moved in front of her, sending the Death Eaters wand flying before kicking him in the shins. She didn't have time for him she needed to get to Bellatrix while she was still frozen in place.

Andromeda looked up from the Death Eater she had just disarmed to the spot where Bellatrix had been standing.

She was gone.

Andromeda's head immediately turned to the side towards where Nymphadora had been fighting. She was still there, fighting two now, still there, still alive. Bellatrix had gone and Nymphadora was still alive.

Andromeda glanced away searching the hallway, looking to see where Bellatrix had gone, just managing to catch her sister's dark, laughing form backing through a doorway her wand alight as a scream pierced the air and a body flew backwards through the crowd.

Andromeda turned away. Bellatrix was no longer her concern. She began to pick her way desperately towards Nymphadora.

"You!"

Andromeda turned to the side spotting her son-in-law beside her.

"You're not supposed to be here," Remus said firing in front of him. He was right, she was suppose to be at home babysitting so that if everything went horribly wrong Teddy would still have family to take care of him. It was a logical plan, but love wasn't logical.

"She's my daughter," Andromeda said firing her wand off to the side.

Remus nodded.

"Here, there's an opening," he said beginning to pick his way towards his wife as Andromeda followed.

---

Andromeda stood blinking as she stared at her feet.

Nothing made sense anymore.

Her vision narrowed until all that she could see was the slight body on the floor at her feet, the battle raging around her no longer registered with any of her senses.

Nymphadora.

Andromeda reached out her hand towards her daughter. She felt herself swaying towards her, falling, moving towards her baby where she could touch her and would find out that she had just been knocked unconscious, that she would have a head ache the next morning but would be fine.

She let herself continue to fall.

"Lady, you have got to move it!" Neville muttered grabbing Andromeda and hoisting her back up. A moment later his wand was pointed at her once he got a good look at her face, a curse on his lips before he realized that she was different. She looked like Bellatrix and she didn't. In any case he was certain that it wasn't Lestrange and wrapped his arm around her waist as his other kept a firm grip on his wand as he began to drag her through the crowd towards a more secure area.

---

Andromeda stumbled towards the sound, familiar and terrifying, her eyes on the ground looking. She'd lost Nymphadora.

That sound … that laugh it was so familiar.

That boy had dragged her away from Nymphadora.

She looked up at the ceiling expecting to see the sun, that laugh … she remembered the sun when she heard that laugh.

"NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH!"

Andromeda turned her head to the side.

Daughter.

Bellatrix.

Molly lifted her wand jerking back slightly when she felt a hand on her arm.

"Andromeda!" she exclaimed surprise and irritation clear in her voice her eyes shifting to look at Bellatrix who's wand was raised but was watching them with a curious expression on her face, her head tilted slightly to the side like a dog trying to identify a strange sound it had heard.

"I'll do it," Andromeda said softly, her eyes on Bellatrix as she spoke. "I need to do it," her voice gaining strength as she spoke.

Bellatrix grinned at her and Andromeda grimaced.

"It was always going to come to this," Bellatrix said the smile vanishing from her face, her voice suddenly serious as she stared intently at her sister. Her face was calm and almost thoughtful as Andromeda stepped in front of Molly Weasely and lifted her wand.

"Yes, I suppose so," Andromeda said feeling steadier as she looked at her sister, feeling the truth of Bellatrix's words. Her sister had once told her that they would have to pry her cold dead corpse from her Andromeda's arms and it seemed as if her prophecy was about to come true. "I had hoped otherwise," Andromeda continued, her thumb brushing over the polished wood of her wand.

Bellatrix smiled, the expression fond as she laughed airily. "You always were a fool," she replied though there was a note of affection in her voice. "Well," she continued, her voice becoming sickeningly chipper and filled with dark mirth once more. "I suppose it's time to take out the trash."

Andromeda nodded grimly.

"Spetumpectra!" Andromeda cried her wand exploding in a sea of red a second later as Bellatrix laughed and danced out of the way.

---

"Infinitas dormio," Andromeda cried her wand lighting up as a streak of green light shot from it hitting Bellatrix square in the chest.

Andromeda's heart seized in her chest. It was done.

Bellatrix froze as the curse hit her, her laughter dying on her lips as her eyes widened and body froze.

Andromeda moved forward, closing the small distance between them, her hands extending to catch Bellatrix's body as it finally began to fall.

Bellatrix looked up into the face that she had once known so well, a face so much like her own only still fresh and full. Azkaban had ravaged her good lucks but Andromeda was still so beautiful, never more so than at that moment with her face haunted and stained with tears.

"It wasn't me," Bellatrix said blinking at the sound of her voice surprised by how small it sounded, how weak.

"I know," Andromeda said softly biting down on her lip to control the urge to break down in tears as she thought about her daughter. She wasn't able to say goodbye to Nymphadora but her daughter knew that she loved her, her daughter died knowing that she had come for her, to fight with her, to protect her … always her mother. She would say a proper goodbye to Nymphadora later by herself and then with friends and other mourners, her daughters death would be commemorated with a sea of tears.

However that moment on the cold, hard floor was her last opportunity to say goodbye to her sister and she had to focus on that.

"N-never cut you out," Bellatrix said her hand twitching as she tried to lift it to Andromeda's face. She wasn't strong enough however and her hand fell on Andromeda's arm instead. 

She had tried to, oh how she had tried to eradicate Andromeda from her heart. She cursed her name, she destroyed all pictures and keepsakes she had of her, she told herself that she would destroy Andromeda, that she would make her pay for leaving her, and on some days she was almost able to convince herself that she hated her sister, that she had succeeded at removing her from her heart. But she never had, she knew for certain she had failed to stop caring when she had let Andromeda's little whelp go free.

"Nor I you," Andromeda said softly her hand moving to Bellatrix's head, stroking her hair gently.

She was sure that it seemed strange to those surrounding them to see them acting the way they were. It must have looked ludicrous to onlookers for her to be tenderly holding her sister after delivering the curse that would soon take her life. But looking down at Bellatrix, Andromeda knew that Bellatrix understood. It seemed right to Andromeda somehow that she should be the one to put her sister down and she could see in Bellatrix's eyes that she was at peace with her sister being the one to end her. Andromeda thought that this was the way it should be, that Bellatrix should die as she had spent half of her life, surrounded by her love.

"Ridiculous," Bellatrix muttered seemingly reading Andromeda's thoughts, her lips twitching a little as she spoke.

Andromeda smiled down at her. They were ridiculous. The whole situation was ridiculous. But they had always been ridiculous, loving each other and thinking it would work, hurting and hoping and loving each other all these years, their loved doomed the moment it had bloomed.

"She fought well," Bellatrix said her voice barely a whisper now. She didn't have long left.

Andromeda breathed in deeply and released a small, broken sound, tears flowing down her cheeks. She squeezed Bellatrix's hand. The words didn't seem like much, but Andromeda knew how meaningful they were.

"She r-reminded me of y-you," Bellatrix continued remembering the look of determination on Nymphadora's face as she fought. There had been a haughty look in the girls eyes and a noble tilt to her head as she dropped one of her opponents. Despite the taint of that Mudblood the girl's Black blood shone through.

"Bella," Andromeda cried softly clutching at her sister.

"You already told me," Bellatrix whispered smiling a little as she remembered Andromeda's pledge of love at her wedding. Oh how she had mocked it at the time but it warmed her now to know that it was true, that despite all she had done and said that Andromeda had still loved her, that she loved her now even as she died in her arms.

"My love," Andromeda mouthed holding Bellatrix's gaze her voice failing her as she watched her sister fade further and further away.

"You were never b-baggage," Bellatrix managed to choke out as her eyes began to slide shut. Her time was almost up.

Andromeda leaned down, pressing her lips to her sister's forehead, her tears raining down on Bellatrix's pale skin, bathing her in her love.

She pulled back from her sister's skin a few minutes later and when she did, Bellatrix was gone.

---

The battle had moved on to other parts of the castle and those that had remained behind to watch the sisters fight stood around them in a loose circle, quiet as the battle raged on in the distance.

"Andromeda," Molly said gently taking a step forward, breaking the revere that had settled over them all.

Andromeda stared down at the dead body in her arms.

"Andromeda," Molly tried again touching her hand to Andromeda's shoulder. She couldn't stay there, the battle had moved for the moment but the hallway would not remain empty forever.

Andromeda stood on shaky legs as her eyes held on sister's prone body, peaceful in death in a way it never had been in life. Finding Bellatrix again had shocked some sensation back into her but now that Bellatrix was gone the devastation and numbness she had felt as she stood over Nymphadora's body sweep through her once more and it hurt for her to breathe.

She stumbled to the side, her legs moving one in front of the other though she had no real conception of commanding them to move.

Andromeda began to walk the worried voice calling out to her blurring into a hum. She walked unaware of where she was going, she walked through duels, spells flying around her, colours exploding all around as she stumbled unseeing towards she knew not what.

---

Andromeda stumbled back, an obstacle suddenly appearing in her way.

"Get down, what's wrong with you!"

Andromeda blinked, she couldn't focus, she wasn't certain what was happening, but she felt herself moving again.

"Get her legs, Draco."

"She looks different," Draco complained as they settled down into the alcove, his father helping Narcissa with Andromeda's limp body before casting some protection spells around the space in the hope that it would keep them somewhat safe.

"Andromeda," Narcissa breathed out looking down at the body in her arms closely for the first time since colliding with the figure she had thought to be Bellatrix at a quick glance. "Dromeda," she repeated, her cool fingers moving to stroke the cheek of the sister she hadn't seen in person for over twenty years.

Andromeda blinked some sense slowly returning to her.

"Cissy," she said softly, her voice catching halfway through her little sister's nickname.

"It's alright, I've got you," Narcissa said softly, her eyes drifting over to Lucius as Andromeda blinked up at her. The Dark Lord had given them orders to get rid of Andromeda and her family, but she didn't much give a flying fuck what the Dark Lord wanted anymore. Besides, she had already lied to him about the Potter boy so if the Death Eaters won the battle that was raging, Andromeda would be the least of their concerns.

Lucius tossed his arms up in the air and nodded. He didn't see what possible difference helping Narcissa's sister could make now.

"Shh," Narcissa said turning her gaze to Andromeda once more, finding her sister's eyes more alert now, certain that she was now aware of what was going on. "Shh, be still. Rest," Narcissa said petting Andromeda's hair gently. She wanted to ask her what happened, she wanted to ask how she had come to be in such a state, but she feared what the answer might be, and she was too afraid already to handle any more.

"What's wrong with her?" Draco asked moving closer to his father, Andromeda's expression frightening him.

Narcissa stared down at her sister cradling her as Andromeda turned in her arms, burying her face in Narcissa's robes as if she couldn't bear to face the world any longer. Narcissa blinked and felt tears dotting her cheeks. When she was little and got scared by thunder or the monster under her bed or any of the number of things that had scared her as a child she had gone to Andromeda and buried her face in her robes as Andromeda was doing to her now.

She held Andromeda closer, keeping her secure in her arms.

"I don't know, Draco," she said softly, her free hand reaching for her son's, squeezing it tightly. She was suddenly afraid to let him go. "Life maybe," Narcissa continued looking down at her sister's broken form. "I think it must be life."

The End


End file.
